KTRH's Michael Berry Responds To TV Station's Hit-And-Run Allegations

February 21, 2012 at 12:09 PM (PT)

CLEAR CHANNEL Talk KTRH-A/HOUSTON host MICHAEL BERRY's response on the air today to stories on NBC affiliate KPRC-TV/HOUSTON that alleged BERRY was involved in a hit-and-run accident outside a gay bar was to blast the media, and especially the TV station, for the reports.

BERRY opened TODAY's show by saying that he would go against the "very expensive" advice of his attorneys and would speak on the reports, and then, after saying "I don't care what people see on some TV station," he said that "the fourth-place TV station" had "run out of house fires to report on, so they decided to do a hit piece on me" using "unnamed sources." Reading the story posted on KPRC-TV's website, he noted the repeated use of the term "gay bar" and ripped the station for running the story on TV three nights in a row. He asserted that he has never "bashed gays" and called the TV station's report "a smear campaign" and threatened to respond with his own "unnamed sources on you S.O.B.s... you will not smear my name and me go down without a fight."

He also criticized gay advocacy groups for assuming he hates gay people ("you jackass! You've never listened to my show!") despite his "call(ing) out the clowns (like PAT ROBERTSON) for their ridiculous gay-hating," playing his parody bit about ROBERTSON and reviewing his opposition to KARL ROVE's position against gays. "Gay hatred is stupid," BERRY said, launching into commentary supporting gay people and criticizing "an irrational fear of gays" and the WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH's anti-gay protests. Imitating people asking him why he went into a gay bar, he said he went into "a bar" because "there was cold beer inside... I'm not afraid that some of the people inside might be gay." He said he went to that particular bar because he "didn't want to be bothered" and knew he would not know anyone there.